It was all those trips into Goose Creek and Charleston to get their daughter’s favorite dessert that inspired the Johnson family to open TC Swirls, a gourmet frozen yogurt shop coming soon to Foxbank Town Center.

“Frozen yogurt is the talk of all the teens around us,” says Charlene Johnson. When she and husband Tim, who will soon retire after 25 years with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, were tossing around ideas for a small business he could run, the idea of a yogurt shop took shape. They were hanging out in their backyard in Foxbank Plantation.

“When we decided to open a business, we wanted it to be close to our forever home in Foxbank — and we decided, if we’re going to do this, let’s make it a fun business!” says Charlene, who is a customer consultant with David Weekley Homes. “Going out for yogurt is usually a fun occasion, so it was the perfect solution.

“We realized it would be a good fit, that it would benefit the neighborhood and community, contribute to the family environment and allow neighbors to enjoy something closer to home,” she adds.

Independently owned, the build-your-own, weigh-and-pay yogurt shop promises plenty of options, including an affordable $2 cone and the “Megaswirl Challenge,” requiring the consumption of 45 ounces of yogurt in 15 minutes or less. “Conquer it and you get a free T-shirt, your photo on the wall and a coupon for free yogurt,” says Charlene. Top “Megaswirl” winners will be eligible to participate in an annual eat-off contest.

Family-owned and inspired, TC (short for Tim and Charlene) Swirls is also family-run; the Johnsons’ two daughters, Kristen and Ashlie, both manage the shop.

“Both girls are helping us,” says Charlene. The family has hired neighborhood teens to help out, too. “We’re trying to keep a family atmosphere. This is something fun in Foxbank, for all of us who have chosen it as our neighborhood.”

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